


A Spark Of Hope

by orphan_account



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M, Post-Mockingjay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-13
Updated: 2013-01-13
Packaged: 2017-11-25 09:26:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/637436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"We both stare at her in awe. Our little girl." One-shot about the birth of Katniss and Peeta's daughter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Spark Of Hope

**Author's Note:**

> This is a revised version of the one I posted on ff.net. Hope you enjoy!

I stare into the fire, watching the bread slowly turn to a golden brown. Any minute now, it will be done, and I can go home. Home to Katniss.

She finally agreed. She finally agreed to have a child. Any time now, the baby will be here. Katniss has seemed nervous for the past nine months, and while I do my best to comfort her, she still seems practically drowned by her fears.

I realize I'm about to burn the bread, and start to pull it out. Just as the phone rings. I drop the bread entirely, it landing in the fire, and rush to the phone.

I pick it up. "Hello?"  
"Peeta? Oh thank god, I was afraid you weren't going to pick up" Its Katniss. She sounds nervous.  
"Why wouldn't I?" I ask.  
"I don't know I just...I don't have time right now okay?" She snaps.  
"Alright, alright. Whats wrong?"  
"It's time," she says.  
I stare at the wall in front of me for a second, lost in thought, the memories coming back.  
Katniss is running towards me, her bow in hand. She stops suddenly, and stares into my eyes for a moment. Then she raises the bow, arrow pointed directly at my heart.  
"Peeta!" I hear her voice yelling at me, a mix of nervous, angry, fear, and something else that I can't quite detect.  
I shake my head, and push the memories away. "I'm here."  
"Did you hear me?"  
I nod, then realize she can't see me, and I'm about to speak up when she says it again anyway.  
"It's time Peeta. Come here, now!" Her voice cracks a little near the end of her sentence, and I realize what else is in her voice. Happiness. She is genuinely happy about this, and I'm glad.  
I find myself smiling. "I'm coming Katniss, I'll be there soon. Breathe, okay?"  
I hear her inhale deeply, then exhale, but obviously this doesn't help much. "Please Peeta!"  
"I'm coming now. Its okay," I assure her. "Be there in just a minute."  
I put out the fire as quickly as I can, and then rush out the door.

Katniss grips my hand tightly, and my knuckles are beginning to turn white.  
"Its okay, its okay" Is all I keep saying, but it isn't helping.  
Suddenly, she loosens her grip, and almost instantaneously, I hear the high-pitched cry.  
Mrs. Everdeen looks up and smiles at us. "It's a girl"

Mrs. Everdeen goes off into another room to clean the baby up, and Katniss looks up at me. I smile at her.  
"We did it." She says. I nod and smile wider.  
In return, she smiles back at me. I love it when she smiles.  
"I love you." I tell her.  
"I love you too." She answers.  
Katniss's mother walks back into the room, with the baby wrapped up in a blanket.  
Katniss looks up at her, smiling.

We both stare at her in awe. Our little girl.  
After a few minutes, I look at Katniss, and realize she has tears in her eyes. At the sight of this, I lean down and hug her. Shes trembling, but I don't mention it.

She doesn't even look up, and I just sit there, holding her close.  
After a while, I ask her if she's okay.  
She looks up. "Wonderful." She tells me, smiling.  
I smile back at her. "Shes beautiful"  
She nods. "She is." Then, turning back to the baby she asks, "What are we going to name her?"  
For some reason I didn't think of names. Maybe I was just so wrapped up in the fact that we were actually going to have a child, because I never thought she would agree to it.  
I almost suggest Rue or Prim, but then think better of it. "I don't know" I finally say.  
I see her lips curl up into a smile, and I think maybe she's had one planned for a while. "How about Raya?"  
"Beautiful." I say.  
"She has your eyes." She says.  
Its true. She does.  
"Just like Prim's" Mrs. Everdeen says, and her voice startles me, because I forgot she was in the room.  
Katniss nods, and while I see her face sadden a little bit, not even the thought of Prim can break her tonight.

By midnight, we're both fatigued by the days events.  
We fall asleep with Raya in our arms, protecting her.

Four years later

Katniss mentioned to me a week after Raya was born that maybe I would go back to normal now. Taking care of Raya has helped. The memories haven't gone away, and sometimes Katniss and I will sit on the couch late at night, playing real or not real. It helps to sort it out, just as it did so long ago. I think for Katniss it's gotten worse though. She still thrashes around in her sleep, nightmares plaguing her. I still rouse Katniss from her nightmares at night, and hold her in my arms for a few hours sometimes until she falls asleep.

Last night though, she woke up not from a nightmare, but something else.

"Peeta..." She looked up at me, worried almost.  
"Yes?"  
She smiled at me slightly.  
I saw the look in her eyes, and knew what was coming. I smiled.  
She kissed me on the cheek.  
Raya was going to be a big sister.


End file.
